IKEA Dioder Relief Lights: DIY Low-Budget Ambilight

If you’re like me, you probably spend way too much time staring at a computer screen. There are some ways to reduce eyestrain, but I have to say that using IKEA’s Dioder LED light strips is one of the most effective since it’s kind of a low-tech, low-cost way of hacking your monitor into a Philips Ambilight.

IKEA Hacker Skipernicus did this, by mounting the $30 Dioder lights on the back of his monitor. He used an Ergotron arm to prop his monitor up, but this should work with any type of monitor, including HDTVs. He also Velcroed the controller the back of the monitor, for easy access, and zip-ties were used to connect the wiring to the monitor arm.

While they won’t match the on-screen colors like an actual Ambilight, the Dioder strips can cycle through colors, and the the backlighting can reduce eyestrain, which is definitely a plus.

And for those of you who are more electronically-inclined, there actually is a color-matching hack available here.